Day #4 of 8 10's in a row, 1 hour to go...

[Viper GTS]

And I'm already tired. I have one hour left to work, & in 10 hours I have to be back for another 10 hours on. This sucks...

Zzzzzzzzzz...



Viper GTS

 

[Adul]

I use to work 4 12's

That really sucked. Not to mention the long 1+ long drive to and from work.

 

[dennilfloss]

Staying up all night only occurs after someone has some experience, and with the right partner.

And Then I Knew (Pat Metheny Group)

 

[Viper GTS]

Hey, sounds good to me. You can come surf on a T1 and be bored taking mentor line calls, & I'll sleep under a desk somewhere... Hey, if I don't go home tonight...that would save me like 3 hours!

I'm used to 4 10's, that's easy. At my last job I frequently did 5 10's, & occasionally a 12-14 if they needed it. But...I never had to work more than 5 days in a row like that. 8 10's sucks.

Viper GTS

 

[Pennstate]

This is after the promotion? How many days do you have off?

 

[dennilfloss]

"8 10's sucks"

I do hope you're paid by the hour! :Q

Is any of this overtime, x1.5?

Higher And Higher (Rita Coolidge)

 

[Viper GTS]

I'll only get my normal 3 days off at the end. And no, none of it's overtime. I am paid by the hour, but the 8 days gets split evenly by the week divider. So they'll just see it as 2 40 hour weeks. No overtime for me... hehe...

Viper GTS

 

[Adul]

ouch, I didn't realize it was 8 10's in a row...what a bummer. Much worse than getting stuck working 15 days strait. At least then I had some half shifts.

 

[Pennstate]

3 days including the weekend?

 

[Viper GTS]

I used to work a 1 PM to midnight shift, Wednesday through Saturday. I had Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday off. My new schedule is 9 AM to 8 PM, Sunday through Wednesday. Thursday, Friday, & Saturday off. It was either take unpaid time off to ease the schedule change (I'm outta PTO), or work straight through to get my regular paycheck. I need the money, so I chose to work straight through.

Viper GTS

 

[randypj]

You gize is wimps.

Try (32) 12hr, 13min days in a row. Midnight to noon. Class 10 clean room fab. Smocked up.

I finished (13) 12-hour days, just about two months ago.
--Randy

 

[Antisocial Virge]

I've worked probably 10-12's in a row before. Other guys at work have gone over 3 weeks at that pace. After 40 hours its x1.5 and after 48 hours its x2. Holidays are x2.5. The guy I work with who has 30+ years of experience hauled in almost $500 on one holiday alone :Q

 

[Netopia]

[Motivational Speech Mode On]

Everyone should have to pull a tour of duty in the military. At 18 I entered the Infantry (yes...a "grunt&quot and began 4 years of learning how much the body and mind can take. There were times in the field where we were out for several weeks straight, usually getting no more than about 4 hours straight sleep and whatever 5 minute cat naps we could steal during the day. In the winter we were basically outside the entire time... freezing cold and often with only one meal per day. It all taught me something though, I could do a LOT more than I thought I could.

I realized when I got out that no civilian job would be hard in comparison because at the end of the day I would go home to a warm shower, food and a bed. If I wanted to quit, I wouldn't go to jail for desertion. A veritable cake-walk!

I spent the last year (Jan-Dec '99) converting a company from running on an antiquated WANG Mini (not YK2 upgradeable) to an NT/Unix/Novel environment (with a few Macs thrown in). I took two holidays off, Thanksgiving and Christmas... I worked all other holidays. I also took one week of vacation. For the most part, I missed very few days other than that. It wasn't unusual for me to work up to 100 hours per week and there were plenty of 16-20 hour days thrown into the mix. There were also a few stretches of 6-8 weeks staight without a day off and averaging 12-14 hours per day. BTW, I'm married with 4 kids, so I had "other" stresses in my life too.

I'm not telling you guys this to "brag", because I really don't think that I did anything that amazing. I am telling you because you can do a LOT more than you think you can, but if you start complaining at 10-12 hours per day for a week or two straight, you will have already hedged yourself in with negativity and although you may do very well in life, you may never actually acheive the heights you are actually capable of. One other side benefit is that if you work for a good company, your hard work will be noticed and rewarded.

I'm blessed to work for a really good comapnyl. For my dedication, I was given a $25,000 a year increase and given two extra weeks vacation per year. I also recieved something that no other person in management ever got, an "Employee of the Month" award.... management is inelligable, but they made a one time exception. Believe it or not, that little certificate and plaque meant a lot to me because it meant my work was noticed. Who knows what the exception will be for you when you really put your mind to it and ignore the hours and simply strive for excellence. I hope your hard work ends in praises and rewards that dwarf mine!
Joe

[/Motivational Speech Mode Off]

 

[randypj]

Joe--Great post. Kind of puts it in perspective. Sounds like you have a right to be proud. It's nice that you appreciate the company you work for. I think a lot of us don't take the time to appreciate how good we have it.

I have been through three major layoffs (two were facility closings). All were major companies and all were good companies to work for. Looking back, I have no complaints. It's the way of corporate America. The companies had to remain competitive.

Point is, I guess, I now enjoy being hourly and hope I always will. I also have the realization that nothing is forever, so when I have a chance for OT, I grab it. Never know when that next layoff might hit.

Whenever I start to feel overburdened and underappreciated, I just think back to a couple jobs I had that I despised and I come back to reality. This is heaven compared to them. I hope to always remember the feeling of waking up on Mon. a.m. and already wishing it was Friday afternoon. Not so I would have time off, but because I hated and dreaded going to work so much. It was so bad, I couldn't even enjoy my free time, because I was dreading going back to work so much. 6 months of Hell. Never again. I'll be destitute first.

Thanks for the reality check.
--Randy

 

[Makanani]

8 10s in a row is pretty bad. I feel your pain Viper. I'm currently working 6 12s week in and week out. Kinda sucks though, but at least i get Sundays off, if that's much consolation. I wake up at 5:15 every stinkin morning, get to work by 6am, and then leave at 6pm. By the time i get home it's already past 7pm. I eat dinner, watch some tv, and then it's straight to bed again. I feel like i'm living in Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray. Absolutely sucks, but the pay is great and it's paying for all my bills and student loans. I'll trade you jobs